Inevitability
by agentwhalesong
Summary: What if Mulder and Scully's path had crossed long before they properly met each other? Minor spoilers for The X-Files: Origins books, with minor references to All Things and The Field Where I died. It can be canon compliant but it can also be AU, you choose.


_A/N: I've been wanting to write about this since I read 'The X-Files: Origins' books and realized that Mulder and Scully could have met before they started working together, so here it is. You can still understand if you haven't read the books, I think. Feedback is appreciated, as always._

She didn't believe in many things in life, but of one thing she was sure: there were no coincidences. She had spent all her childhood, her teenage years, plus a good part of her adult life hearing at the church every Sunday that God works in mysterious ways, but it had taken crop circles, of all things, to make her believe that everything happens for a reason.

She held the worn-out photo in her hands and analyzed it carefully. The name of the shop was what was highlighted with a red pen, but what called her attention was something else. To the right of the picture, almost blending in with a few passersby, there were two girls talking, distracted, oblivious to the fact that they were going to be immortalized in a stranger's photo, unaware of the fact that this same photo would be found by one of them almost 40 years in the future, ignorant to the fact that the stranger who was taking the photo wouldn't be a stranger forever. She felt a tear falling, going down her nose, as she remembered that day and also as she came to the realization of what this all meant. Destiny? She heard the steps to the attic creaking as Mulder walked his way up to her.

"Scully, is everything okay? I've been calling you for the past 10 minutes and I was starting to believe one of the ghosts in this attic had kidnapped you."

She dried the tear with her thumb and then smiled at him as she saw his face turn into one of concern as he saw she was crying.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you calling."

She wanted to add that there were no ghosts in the attic, but looking around, she knew that he was right this time. There were more ghosts than she could count on one finger, all trapped in old photos of when life was simpler, easier.

He rested one of his hands in the middle of her back, rubbing it slightly.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He knew better than to push her, but she could see he was truly concerned.

She nodded, smiling again.

"Mulder, can you tell me the story behind this picture?"

He took the picture from her hands and seemed to search his mind for a few seconds.

"There's nothing much to it, actually. Since the police had basically given up on finding Samantha, I started investigating on my own every time I had the chance. One day, my investigations led me to this small town called Craiger. It was 1979, I believe. I stopped by this place with my friends and there was something to it I couldn't quite put my finger on it, so I snapped a picture before we left and I kept it in my 'investigation box', as I used to call it. I never found any connections between this place and Samantha, but I really liked the name. 'Beyond Beyond' is a nice place for a spooky person like me, don't you think?" He smiled, trying to get a reaction out of her. As she chuckled, he continued. "I didn't even know I still had this. Why do you ask?"

Scully laughed softly, her vision starting to blur with the tears that wouldn't let her be. She swallowed and cleared her throat before speaking.

"What else do you see in this picture?"

Mulder looked confused, but he had learned throughout the years that this was her way of making him understand her, giving him clues so he could put all the pieces of the puzzle together himself, much like he did to her.

He looked at the picture again. A car, some trees behind the shop, some passersby, two random girls to the right of the shop. They looked familiar, now that he thought of it.

"Is it the two girls?"

She nodded and sighed, trying to let her words out as clearly as possible.

"Melissa and I."

She saw his face change as he processed all the information she had relayed to him in just three words. She could almost see the gears working inside his head, connecting the dots, leaving him in a state of even more shock as he made the connections and realized the same thing she had: their paths had crossed long before they met properly.

He smiled. No, smile was not the word, he actually grinned, as he looked from the picture to her and then back at the picture several times.

"How didn't I notice you back then? You were certainly young Mulder's type."

She chuckled, imagining for a moment what would have happened if they had met back then. Would they have gotten together anyway? Or would have life taken a different turn? It didn't matter now, but still, she couldn't help but wonder.

"Young Mulder's type, huh? May I know what old Mulder's type is?"

He wrapped one arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

"Same, but older."

She couldn't help giggling at that. She wrapped one of her arms around his waist as well, looking at the picture in his hand again.

"What does this mean, Mulder?"

He sighed, holding her tighter.

"I think it means we were always meant to be."

He had such a beautiful smile on his face she felt her heart melt. He lowered his lips to hers, putting the picture carefully in the box beside him before cupping her face. He pulled her closer in his arms as he deepened the kiss and she felt his heartbeat against hers. So many years together and a simple kiss still gave her butterflies.

He let go of her mouth to kiss her neck and she sighed at the contact, regretful that they would have to stop and that she would have to be the one to stop it.

"Mulder, we need to finish working out this mess first or else your daughter won't have a bedroom when she comes into this world."

He chuckled against her neck and planted a soft kiss where he had been sucking slightly.

"She's a few months away, Scully, we have all the time in the world. Besides, it's not like she's going to sleep in the attic."

She laughed lightly as he moved to her earlobe and nibbled at it a few times.

"Yes, but I want to help out and I won't be able to do so for much longer." He kissed along her jaw, trying to make her resolve crumble. He certainly was on the right track. "Mulder, I'm serious. I promise we'll finish this later."

She shot him a sly look and he sighed, resigning. He gave her a peck on the lips one last time.

"Lunch is ready, that's what I came here to tell you. Let's go eat and I'll help you finish putting these things away afterwards. Deal?"

She smiled and nodded as he grabbed her hand to lead her out of the room. He stopped before going down the stairs, turning to her again.

"Would our lives be different today if we had met back then?"

He squeezed her knuckles, prompting an answer.

"Maybe. I was wondering about that, too." She squeezed his hand back in reassurance. "No matter what, I think we would have been together anyway. In this life, in another life, in another time… we would have always found our way to each other."

She surprised even herself by saying this out loud, but she guessed Mulder really made a believer out of her in certain aspects of her life.

He seemed surprised too, but he grinned like an idiot and kissed the back of her hand.

"You're making me want to skip lunch, woman."

She chuckled, slapping his arm lightly.

"We made a deal, though. Lunch first, cleaning second, sex third."

"Oh, hang on! I never agreed to that order, only that lunch was first."

She pretended to think for a while.

"Maybe you can convince me to change that order after lunch. Right now, your child needs food and so does your wife."

He giggled as he turned around again and led her down the stairs.

Fate or not, what she had told him all those years ago still remained true: even if she knew for certain, she wouldn't change a day.


End file.
